Snow Peach
by MiRuKa
Summary: Hinamori has been sent on a mission to a forest. When her Hell Butterfly comes back with a shocking message, Hitsugaya is sent to find her. What secrets about the Yami no Koe Forest will he find? HitsuHina. My first fic, please review! T for a reason. OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me.

A/N: This is my first fic, so be kind and give me some constructive comments!!

* * *

"Hinamori fukutaicho, please report to the soutaicho now." the Hell Butterfly fluttered in front of Hinamori and Hitsugaya.

Groaning as she had just come back from a mission of slaying Hollows, and had expected to be able to rest for a day or two, Hinamori dragged her feet all the way to the first division.

Knocking wearily on the door, she was greeted by the weathered voice of the soutaicho.

"Come in, Hinamori fukutaicho." he said kindly, inviting her to sit down.

"Hai, soutaicho. Were you looking for me?" Hinamori asked tentatively.

"As a matter of fact, yes. We have detected signs of disappearances in a part of Japan and we would like to send you there to investigate.

"Rumours have been spreading about music from a nearby forest that lures the people there into the forest, and they are never seen again." The soutaicho explained.

Hinamori's eyes widened in shock.

"H-hai. Soutaicho, so you want me to investigate the source of the … disappearances, right?" she stammered.

"Yes. Do not worry. You are a shinigami who is a lieutenant, so I trust that you will be able to settle this problem easily." The soutaicho's words comforted Hinamori.

Nodding her head, she excused herself and went back to her division quarters, where Hitsugaya was waiting for her.

"Hinamori, why was the soutaicho looking for you?" he asked concernedly.

"Ano…he wanted me to go on a mission…" Hinamori said, packing her things into her bag.

"Ok… You'd better take care. I don't want my precious peach to come home wounded." Hitsugaya said, smirking.

"…fine, fine. Now, it's about time I go. Sayonara, Hitsugaya-kun!" Hinamori said, stuffing the last of her things in and slinging it over her shoulder.

Annoyed, Hitsugaya shouted at her, "IT'S HITSUAYA-TAICHO, BED WETTER MOMO!"

"…anyway, sayonara, Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Shunpo-ing gracefully away over the green patch of grass, Hinamori turned to wave one last time at her childhood friend before disappearing, a black speck against the blue sky.

Turning his back on her, Hitsugaya moved silently back to his office.

* * *

'Hitsugaya-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho.' The Hell Butterfly fluttering in front of the captain had the message.

Listening intently, Hitsugaya was surprised that he was asked to meet the soutaicho.

"Another job, hmmm…" he muttered, dragging on his haori and speeding towards his destination.

He reached there faster than he'd expected and knocked on the door.

"Soutaicho." He greeted.

Nodding his head and motioning for the tenth division captain to sit, the soutaicho went straight into business.

"I would like you to listen to this," he said gravely.

A Hell Butterfly landed on Hitsugaya's palm.

"Taske…Hitsugaya-kun…Hollow desu…" were the only things he could make out from the background noise.

Staring at the soutaicho with horrified eyes, his worse fears were confirmed.

The soutaicho sighed.

"We lost touch with Hinamori-fukutaicho two days ago. When we tried contacting her Hell Butterfly, we could not reach them at all.

"Then, today, Kuchiki-taicho saw this Hell Butterfly fly into Seireitei without its owner.

"He brought it to me and I had to fix it up as there were wounds on its wings. We finally got her message an hour or so ago and it worried us.

"I would like you to go and search for her, as you are closest to her amongst the whole Gotei Juusan."

Standing up, Hitsugaya saluted and left the room.

The moment he was out the door, he ran back to his office and stuffed some necessities into his pouch.

"Matsumoto!" he yelled.

Said fukutaicho poked her head out of her room.

"Nani, taicho? Where are you going?" she asked.

"Mission. Finish up all the paperwork. I want them to be done by the time I get back." Hitsugaya said, ignoring Matsumoto's wail of annoyance.

"Okay, I'm off." He said.

He disappeared, and the only thing he left behind was a wisp of dust and a fleeting shadow.

* * *

Reaching the last-known location of Hinamori, Hitsugaya looked around for a clue to her whereabouts.

Seeing nothing, he sped into the forest, which he had heard enchanted the missing villagers.

He was greeted by a sight that spooked him.

Ice was everywhere in the middle of the forest, but did not seem to have harmed the trees.

To his horror, he saw ice cocoons of people everywhere.

Looking around in horror, he saw a familiar figure, hair down and legs frozen.

"Hinamori!" he yelled, running over to her and nearly losing balance.

Hinamori did not move. It appeared that she could not even hear him.

Until something grabbed him.

Turning around in surprise, he felt familiar hands clutching his neck.

"Let…go…o...f…me…Hinamo…ri!" he muttered, trying to free himself from her death grip.

* * *

The sound of her name seemed to wake her up from her deep sleep.

"Hitsugaya…kun?" she murmured softly, a shadow of her bubbly self.

"Hinamori!" he said in delight.

"Why are you here…? I don't want you…to be…cursed…like me…I am…reliving…my…" Hinamori gasped and fell back onto the tree.

Ice-like ropes bound her arms and legs and she wouldn't be able to move even if she were awake.

"Hinamori! Oi, Hinamori!" Hitsugaya yelled frantically.

The thing that had grabbed him just a few minutes before laughed, a horrible sneering laugh.

"Hahahaaaaha!" it cackled, gripping him even tighter.

"Your girlfriend will die here, just like all those other humans. And so will you!" it snarled, pointing a gnarled and wrinkled finger at Hitsugaya.

* * *

Hmm…should I continue? Erm, Review? Please!? Constructive comments only… :)

Sagashite-kokoro.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I won't say it again. Go tto the first chapter and see. CHAPTER BEGIN !

* * *

Staring at the monster that was grabbing him, Hitsugaya's sharp eyes picked up a slight movement from behind it.

'Hinamori!?' he thought as the girl struggled to break free from her ice bonds.

Her hand trembled for a second, before falling limp again.

It was at this point where Hitsugaya noticed what his childhood friend had been trying to reach–a koto!

Wincing from the painful grasp of the monster, Hitsugaya inched towards the koto and kicked it towards Hinamori.

"Hit..su…gaya…kun…" Hinamori's dry and raspy voice scared Hitsugaya.

Reaching out to touch her forehead, he was rudely yanked back by the large hand of the monster.

"Now, now, don't try to play any dirty tricks…or else…" it smirked, admiring what it's poisonous words had done to the white-haired captain.

He scowled. "Do you think you will get away with this!?"

"Yes, indeed…" the sentence was cut short as the koto began playing. The melody of the instrument was surprisingly soft, gentle and at the same time bold.

The gentle tweaks of the strings rang softly as they sprung back into position.

The hold around Hitsugaya's neck loosened. He heard a small thud behind him, but before he could turn around to see what it was, a sudden thump on his back propelled him forward.

He blinked for a moment, before straightening up and holding his back. 'Why are gigais so weak!?' he muttered under his breath.

The sound of the koto traveled over the wind, melodiously and sleepily. A wave of exhaustion swept over the captain.

'No…I cannot leave Hinamori here..alone… I must fulfill my duty as… a captain of the Gotei Juusantai…' conflicting thoughts ran through his mind.

He turned to look at Hinamori, but the only thing that was visible of her was her long black hair, let down and tangled.

He could faintly see her hands, those delicate and comforting hands, slowly playing the koto, the melancholic sound of the koto dwelling on, ringing faintly as he felt something dragging him away.

"Come with me…" he thought he heard, but immediately everything went black and he knew no more.

* * *

A blurred image of something wavered over Hitsugaya as he slowly awoke.

A face… Highly reminiscent of Hinamori… The same dark black hair, same cheery smile, same twinkling eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked kindly in Japanese.

Hitsugaya muttered, "Yeah, sort of…" but it was so soft that the face could not hear him.

"Huh?" she asked.

Hitsugaya's eyes focused as he blinked.

* * *

To my (utmost) horror, I realised that this fic got REVIEWED and ALERTED and FAVED in less than a day...

So I decided to post this up. Gomenasai, it was (freaking) short - 500+ words... T-T don't kill me.

I've got a whole lot of revision to do. It isn't my fault that I have a quiz tomorrow… for Maths!! My worst subject. REVIEW !

* * *

I am taking questions from the reviewers.

Ichigo: Question number one! From freakaga1n:

Q- interesting... you started it so might as well finish it, ne?

Hitsugaya: Yea, and since the authoress updated, apparently she agrees with you!

Hinamori: Here's one from cherryblossom hime:

Q- so are Momo and Toushiro a couple in this story?

Hitsugaya: (flushes deep shade of scarlet) …

Hinamori: (blushes and covers her face)…

Rukia: …apparently. According to the summary the authoress put in, it is. And she also realised that you like reading HitsuHina fics (she found that out from your profile).

Ichigo: OK, Hollow-slaying time! (draws Zangetsu and runs out of door) (Begins fightin Hollows)

Rukia: (sigh) ok, that's all folks! Sayonara… for now! (chases after Ichigo) OI, ICHIGO!!


	3. Chapter 3

The girl was not tall, yet not short. Her brown eyes looked concernedly at Hitsugaya as he struggled to sit up.

"I'm… fine…" Hitsugaya said through clenched teeth as he felt a stinging pain sear across his chest and the girl tried to stop him.

Relenting, she moved away from the bed and leaned against the wall beside the door.

"Who are you?" Hitsugaya questioned the girl.

Their eyes met for a brief second before the girl averted the other's gaze.

"I'm Iromanih." She said simply, "You were pushed away from the Yami no Koe forest by the monsters that dwell in it. Your friend was trapped in her memories."

Understanding finally what Hinamori had meant by 'I don't want you…to be…cursed…like me…I am…reliving…my…' , Hitsugaya stood up suddenly, ignoring the pain that surged through his body like a dagger.

"No. You cannot leave. You cannot leave." An old lady said, slamming the door open.

"But… Hinamori…!" Hitsugaya retorted.

"It is dangerous at night. The Yami no Koe forest comes alive with monsters at this time of the day. The sound of darkness echoes through the forest. Nobody can defeat it. Nobody," the lady paused for a second, scrutinizing Hitsugaya for a moment, "not even…a Shinigami."

This last line shook Hitsugaya.

"Sh-shinigami…?" he asked, faking mock ignorance.

It did not fool the lady.

"Do not deny it. You are a shinigami. To be precise, a shinigami captain."

Hitsugaya looked at her in shock.

"How did you know…?" he muttered almost inaudibly.

He clutched his chest as another burst of pain shot through him. "Keh…"

It felt like his stomach was on fire. Hitsugaya could feel his heart, beating hard against his chest as he struggled to breathe.

"Do not move!" the lady ordered, restraining him, "this is the work of the Yami no Koe."

"It spreads through a person whose spiritual energy is high and infects his body. It is only removable by applying force on the different outlets of the virus. None but old granny can remove it.

"As a shinigami, and a captain for that matter, you have enormously high spiritual energy and therefore are easy prey for the Yami no Koe." Iromanih said, entering the room with a jug of steaming hot water with the faint scent of lemongrass rising with the steam.

"We feared that you'd be infected…so we prepared the concoction beforehand, in case an emergency like this happened…" the old lady explained to Hitsugaya, who had become still and unmoving, though his eyes were still wide and shocked and still breathing.

"Ichi, nin, san, go, shichi!" she muttered, hitting various parts of Hitsugaya's chest with a five-pointed stick.

"T-ai-cho!" a shrill yell from the tenth division office could be heard even from the second division, "WHERE ARE YOU?"

Walking up to the anxious fukutaicho who had lost her captain, Renji tapped her smartly on the back.

"Oi." He said, looking annoyed.

Matsumoto turned around to face him.

"Renji?" she asked questioningly.

"I thought Hitsugaya-taicho went on a mission?"

"OH YES! Wait. DOES THAT MEAN THAT I DID ALL THAT PAPERWORK FOR NOTHING!?" Matsumoto wailed, pointing to the offending pile of paperwork that she had left neatly on the table.

"Hah. Anyway please lower your yelling volume. Kuchiki-taicho and I are trying to finish the paperwork."

With that, Renji shunpo-ed back to his office.

"…" Hitsugaya groggily sat up, clutching his right shoulder.

"Ah, you're awake!" Iromanih exclaimed, running into the room.

"Yeah… what time is it?" Hitsugaya asked, looking around him.

The warm colours of the cool sunrise greeted his face as he looked out the window.

"I see… it's morning now…" he said to the room in general.

"Yes. You've been recuperating for a whole night." The old lady said, walking into the room with a cloak on her shoulders.

Throwing a similar cloak to Hitsugaya, she told him to get ready to move off.

Hehhhh. 6 reviews thanks for reviewing and please continue! Did you notice that Iromanih is Hinamori backwards? xDDD

Questionnaire time!!

Ichigo: From freakaga1n:

Q-what happen next?

Rukia: You just found out:)

Hinamori: Inubaki asks…

Q- I'm confused... is that Momo or just some girl trying to subduce Hitsugaya?

Iromanih: Huh?? No. I was so not trying to subdue Hitsugaya.

Hinamori: Yea. Now, Hitsugaya-kun, I hear something. Is it a Menos Grande?

Hitsugaya: Okay, Menos Grande attack! Soden ni zashe, Hyorinmaru!

Ichigo: LET'S GO!!

Rukia: Before I go, I have to…

Hinamori: Ask them to review!

Rukia: Oh, yeah. REVIEW PLEASE!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Beginning of the End

Disclaimer – no longer typing out….

* * *

The cloak swished around Hitsugaya as he sped down the road behind the old lady. All of a sudden, he heard Iromanih scream, "Leiriel, RUN!" 

Before he could react, Hitsugaya felt a rush of wind and leaves. Turning around, he noticed that the old lady had gone, running through the trees like a shadow.

As he continued walking, he heard an explosion behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Iromanih frantically kicking black energy bolts into what seemed to be light energy towards the trees.

Seeing a bullet of darkness flying towards him, Hitsugaya dodged easily and transformed into his shinigami form.

Drawing Hyorinmaru, he felt somewhat like a fool, running around with a white haori, a black cloak and a drawn sword. Blocking the blasts, he and Iromanih escaped easily enough from the clutches of the Yami no Koe forest.

"Nice one, Iro-chan!" Leiriel yelled.

Hitsugaya blinked in confusion. Seeing this, Iromanih explained, "Leiriel was cursed two years ago. She's my age. But the curse caused her to become like.. like this.." Iromanih's voice quivered slightly at this point, "but looks aside, she's every bit as agile and powerful as me…"

Leiriel nodded sadly. Showing Hitsugaya her left arm, he was shocked to see a red cross running along the whole length of her arm.

Suddenly, Hitsugaya started. Without a word, he shunpo-ed towards the northeast.

"Hitsugaya!" Leiriel and Iromanih shouted in unison, before chasing after him.

Finally locating him, they were not surprised to find that he was bound to a tree with creeping binds.

Leiriel's eyes narrowed. "Curse the Kami of this Forest!"

Muttering something under her breath, she asked Iromanih to pick up the captain while she worked at freeing the girl beside him.

* * *

'Shiro-chan! Don't be so mean to the cat!' 

'What? Bed-wetter…'

'Kids, watermelon-picking time!'

'All right! Race you there, Bed-wetter!'

'If I win ,you have to give me your watermelon!'

'Nani!? That's not fair!'

'Ne, Shiro-chan, if you get into the death god school, what'd you do?'

'Who'd wanna go there? I'd rather stay here and eat watermelons!'

'Congratulations, Shiro-chan! I thought you wanted to stay in Rukongai and eat watermelons with Obaa-san?'

'Hitsugaya-kun, I've been promoted to the third seat of Aizen-taicho's division!'

'It's HITSUGAYA-TAICHO!'

* * *

"Hitsugaya!" Iromanih yelled frantically. No response.

* * *

'Hinamori, you have to get up soon…' 

'Hinamori…!!'

'Aizen, you shall pay for this…'

"Hit…su…gaya-kun…get… out of here…fast…taske…taske…"

* * *

ZZZ I've been lazy this month. Last chapter is on the way, so… LOOK OUT! 

I don't remember if there were any questions, so if there were any, I'll post them next chapter.

Review please! I love them :D


	5. Chapter 5

Apologies, my dear friends for the long wait

Apologies, my dear friends for the long wait!

Chapter 5:

The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of the Future.

Images of his past shimmered and flashed before his eyes.

Hitsugaya could feel the heavy weight of something on him, but didn't have any idea what it was. He could feel something binding him to the ground, forbidding him from movement.

'Hit…su…gaya-kun…get… out of here…fast…taske…taske…' Hinamori's voice rang faintly in his ears. Struggling to make sense of the words as he tried to free himself from the grasp of impending sleep, he thought of the beautiful memories he had shared with Hinamori, his peach girl.

'Taske means help, Hinamori,' he suddenly recalled the time when he was helping Hinamori revise for her exams.

'Taske…' He had heard her say it a while ago… Then it clicked.

'Hinamori needs me to help her!' his conscience said.

That strengthened his will to break free of the binds, and he writhed and struggled as he tried his best to break them.

At last, he broke free of them, and opening his eyes, looked around. The forest itself was a place of beauty, and if it had not been cursed, Hitsugaya was sure that it would have been a scenic place. The darkness of the night was lifting, and he could see faint slivers of sunlight in the distance. In the forest itself, there was no light except for the slivers and occasional bright flashes.

Trees were placed strategically in a circle right in the middle of the Yami no Koe forest.

In that clearing, Hitsugaya could see the frozen bodies of the many victims before Hinamori.

"Who would have done such a ruthless thing?" he thought aloud.

"Me, of course." A sneer rang from the dark side of the forest.

Turning to face the source of the voice, Hitsugaya loudly said, "I will kill the person responsible for this damage!"

"You will? Let's see then." Something walked out then, something that Hitsugaya had never seen before.

The thing was half human, half Hollow. Its head was covered with vines and leaves, its body covered with a white cloth that Hitsugaya recognized as the Espada uniform.

Pulling his pants up, the Espada showed Hitsugaya a big red mark on his left knee. The mark was greatly distorted, and was in the form of an 8.

"I am the 8th Espada, Eok!" the Espada announced, laughing at the shockwaves that erupted from his mouth and shook the trees.

A dark gloom settled over the forest. The trees seemed to grow at amazing speeds and towered over the clearing. Gloomy shadows filled up the empty spaces.

Eok laughed again, a deep laugh that produced yet more shockwaves.

"Just exactly what do you want, Eok?" Hitsugaya growled dangerously.

"Oh, nothing, except to wipe out the human race and you shinigami." Eok said sarcastically

A scowl passed over the shinigami captain's face, and his face became dangerously dark.

Drawing Hyorinmaru, he raised it towards Eok.

"Let's end this today…no more running around and playing childish games."

"Fine with me, as long as I get to kill you and get promoted to the 7th position!" Eok smirked.

"Soden ni zashe, Hyorinmaru!" Hyorinmaru immediately shone and the clearing was filled with light from the sword.

A sudden movement and neither Espada nor shinigami were in place.

Only shadows and light showed the contrasting sides.

As their weapons met for the third time in a row, Hitsugaya saw Hinamori struggling.

"Hitsugaya-kuuuuuuuuuun!!"Iromanih and Leiriel yelled frantically.

No sign of the captain could be found anywhere.

As they walked deeper into the forest, Iromanih looked around. She could feel restless spirits here. Restless spirits meant danger.

Leiriel's sharp ears picked up a faint sound from the middle of the forest. Calling to Iromanih, they quickly headed in that direction, and before long, they could hear the yells of Hitsugaya as he attacked.

Soon, the two battlers came into sight. Both sides seemed to be equally matched, and neither of them appeared weary.

But it was not long before they could see obvious signs of weariness in the two of them.

Just then, Iromanih saw something that shocked her.

"Leiriel! Leiriel!" she shouted as she moved towards the struggling shinigami. "Is this the girl Hitsugaya-kun was looking for?"

Leiriel looked at the girl intently. Long hair, shinigami. A number 5 could be seen on her sleeve. Nodding, she proceeded to produce a sharp knife, and began to cut through the binds.

The girl was now trashing, flailing her arms wildly.

'If it goes on like this, it's either I run or I die…'Hitsugaya thought as he shunpo-ed from the dark creature.

'I will kill this thing, for the sake of Soul Society, for the sake of the trapped…for the sake of Hinamori."

His bankai already activated, he clasped Hyorinmaru in his arms and prepared himself for the final blow.

Summoning all his soul energy into his arms and Hyorinmaru, he whispered to his sword, "Hyorinmaru, I've never let you down. Don't let me down this time." He thought he saw his sword's soul nod in reply.

Spinning to a halt, Hitsugaya smiled at Eok. "Are you ready to die?"

"No. Are you?"

The captain didn't bother to reply, instead he swung Hyorinmaru towards the Espada's head and slashed it down until he reached the skull.

Blood spattered onto his clothes and the ground around them as Eok gasped, "How can this be…?"

As Eok became non-existent, the ice on the bodies of the trapped began to melt.

Iromanih looked up just in time to see Hitsugaya smile wearily, before swaying dangerously.

Running towards him, she cried, "Hitsugaya-kun, dai jo bu?!"

He made no reply, but she saw his lips whisper a silent word.

Two weeks later, when the two shinigami had recuperated under the care of Leiriel and Iromanih, it was time to say farewell.

"Arigato, Leiriel-san! Arigato, Iromanih-san!" Hinamori smiled and waved as they parted.

Hitsugaya merely nodded, before turning away to face the long road ahead.

"Sayonara!" Iromanih yelled.

"It's sad…" Hinamori said softly.

"What's sad?" Hitsugaya asked curiously.

"Leiriel-san couldn't change back into a normal human because of the curse…"

"But she doesn't mind! She herself said that it meant that she got to stay at home to learn new recipes!" Hitsugaya said seriously.

"Really?" Hinamori asked.

"Duh, NO!"

The two of them laughed and walked together towards the sunset, towards Soul Society, towards a better future.

Sorry for the last part.

This chapter feels, weird…

Cause…

I quit fanfiction for 5 months.

Please review!

I'll try to redo this chapter when I have time!

Promise (:


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